This invention relates in general to suspended ceilings or raised floor connectors and, in particular, to a connector system to be used for ceilings suspended from an overhead roof or support structure or for use with a platform floor system elevated above a floor base.
Suspended ceilings are frequently formed utilizing a channeled grid or framework to suspend the ceiling grid from an existing roof or overhead support structure. In this manner the suspended grid-work is used in combination with ceiling panels to form a suspended ceiling at a height above the floor. Similarly, a platform floor system is formed using a channeled grid or framework, which is supported on a floor base to form a raised floor above the floor base. Floor panels are carried on the framework and the space so formed above the ceiling or below the raised floor can be used for various purposes such as mechanical services for heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems (HVAC) or to form a seal for the space below the suspended ceiling and/or above the raised floor to preserve the integrity of a particular enclosed area such as used in cleanrooms.
These suspended ceiling and raised floor grids are used in combination with panels, which are fitted into the grid-work for forming the suspended ceiling, or raised floor. To this end various configurations of grid-works are utilized. In certain applications, the uppermost portion of the grid-work is formed with a longitudinally extending runner and/or cross member having a substantially U-shaped cross-section to form a channel by which the grid system is connected to a support structure for forming a suspended ceiling from an overhead support or a retainer for receiving and connecting floor panels.
There are many variations of fasteners utilized to secure such grids or framework structures to form a suspended ceiling or raised platform floors. Such systems, however, are frequently difficult or inconvenient to install, while others are designed for use with a specific type of grid or framework system.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems or disadvantages associated with the relevant technology.
In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a two-part, upper and lower portion connector system for coupling together the runners and cross-pieces, or cross members, for a suspended ceiling or raised floor. The lower portion of the connector system comprises a lower connector piece which is adapted to be press-fit into an end of a lower channel of a cross member, and has a portion thereof which is adapted to connect with a lower slot of a runner which is a companion piece to the cross member for forming a ceiling/floor grids system.
The upper portion of the connector system comprises an upper connector piece which is bolted at the end of the cross member in an upper channel thereof, and has an upstanding lip which mates with an inner slot formed adjacent to an upper channel of the companion runner.
In this manner, cross members may be positioned anywhere along the length of a runner by manually inserting the lower connecting piece, secured, in the lower end of the cross member, into the lower slot of the runner and twisting or turning the cross, member to lock the lower connecting piece thereto. The upper connecting piece, carried in the upper end of the cross member, is loosened and the upstanding lip thereof positioned into the adjacent inner slot of the runner. The upper connecting piece is then tightened locking the upper connecting piece to the adjacent runner.